Debate:Should Americans be required to buy health insurance?

From Conservapedia

YES

The result of the above mentioned people being without cover is a death rate estimated to be around 45,000/year[2]

Current schemes result in high costs for Americans, and are responsible for around 60% of all declarations of bankruptcy.[3]

For the above reasons, the humanitarian/utilitarian decision is evidently to support public funded healthcare in the United States of America. Furthermore, from an ecconomically motivated point of view it is also beneficial, as the cost of healthcare in other nations currently implementing a taxpayer funded system is demonstrably lower than that in the United States[4], where individuals have to find their own insurance.

It is also worth noting that there have been many cases of insurance companies either 1) denying cover for those with pre-existing conditions (thus leaving them incapable of surviving without government funding, and creating a burden for the taxpayer much higher than it would be in a public system) or 2) exploiting legal loopholes to deny cover paid for for arbitrary reasons.

The opposition argues that as "Millions of the people without insurance here aren't Americans; they are illegal aliens.". The implication made by the opponents is that because the uninsured are not american citizens they are somehow inferior. We would like to highlight for the opposition that holding Citizenship of the United States does not place one at a higher status or priority in regard to medical care, and that to decline care for aliens merely because they are so is contradictory to the "golden rule" honoured by -among many other doctrines- the Holy Bible.

NO

It's unconstitutional to make people buy something. Neither doctors nor hospitals here turn patients away if they lack insurance, and many will treat first, bill later (even if they know you can't pay them).

Millions of the people without insurance here aren't Americans; they are illegal aliens. And around 10 million Americans are only without insurance because they are between jobs; it takes such a person typically 4 months to get a new job (and with it, health insurance).

Amendment 14 of the US constitution "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." We would benefit better by standing against the government telling us what to do.